Minister: Brussels is not happy seeing Hungary succeed
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The European Defence Fund could give impetus to further developments in Hungary’s defence industry, Imre Porkoláb, the defence ministry’s commissioner for innovation, said on Tuesday.
Speaking at an EDF promotion event in Budapest, Porkoláb said the European defence facility has EUR 8 billion for the 2021-27 period.
He said Hungary would make use of cooperation opportunities offered through the EDF, adding that “cooperation could fundamentally accelerate efforts to rebuild the Hungarian defence industry by involving new partners in developing capabilities.”
He noted Hungary’s research and innovation knowledge base and called for “an active role in programmes under way and in future ones”. Closer cooperation, he added, was needed with civil organisations, businesses, and research facilities.
The ministry maintains active ties with universities, research institutes and private companies through which “dual use” technologies are developed for defence and general purposes in support of the national economy, he noted.
Concerning the war in Ukraine, Porkoláb warned of the possibility of an escalating conflict, saying that “in such times strength is needed to preserve peace”.
The Hungarian government, he said, had “given an ambitious response to new challenges and embarked on intensive upgrade of its army to make it a modern, dominant force in the region.” Reinforcing the Hungarian defence technology and industry is a crucial part of that process, as well as the integration of defence capability developments in the defence research, development, and innovation system of the European Union, he added.
Our Politicians keep on banging on that all they want is peace … AND we want to grow our domestic defense industry?
Where do our Politicians think weapons and munitions are going? Even in 10, 20, 30 years or more.
We’re not Swiss. We won’t be able to withstand pressure to export to conflict regions, In fact, I’d be very surprised if the defense industry does not specifically include an “export permit guarantee” as a prerequisite for investing in Hungary.
President Regan’s slogan was “Peace through strength”. This conservative philosophy makes perfect sense for a country like Hungary. Exporting weaponry will increase the GDP and it is great for the balance of payments. Hungary’s wealth is its people, hope that they will manufacture efficient killing machines. It is time that Hungary stopped bleeding.